Pit Bull Saves Woman from Oncoming Train

A special dog named Lilly stepped in front of an oncoming train to shield her owner, who had passed out on the tracks, most likely due to her recurrent alcoholism. Lilly is recuperating at home now and her entire $15,000 vet bill was taken care of by donations.

I love this story. It shows how brave and loyal pits can be. I know Bruno would probably do the same for me.

McDonald's Pit Bull Ad

Finally McDonald's pulled a radio ad that said that eating a Chicken McBite was less dangerous than petting a stray pit bull. Thanks Mickey D's-- but my dog was a stray pit bull once, and I can assure you, petting him is a lot safer than eating your "meat."

Listen to the add here.

First of all, why did they need to air a radio ad saying how safe eating their food is? Well, perhaps because this photo of the "pre-chicken nugget "meat" paste that they use to make their nuggets was leaked onto the internet. Read about how its made below:

Someone figured out in the 1960s that meat processors can eek out a few more percent of profit from chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows by scraping the bones 100% clean of meat. This is done by machines, not humans, by passing bones leftover after the initial cutting through a high pressure sieve. The paste you see in the picture above is the result. There's more: because it's crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia... Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color. Read more.

Not only does their food barely qualify as "food," their advertising agency clearly is failing as well. Due to an overwhelming internet response, McDonald's had to issue the following apology:

"The ad was insensitive in its mention of pit bulls. We apologize. As soon as we learned of it, we tracked the source and had the local markets pull the ad immediately. We'll do a better job next time. It's never our intent to offend anyone with how we communicate news about McDonald's," Ashlee Yingling, spokesman for McDonald's Corp.

Good job boy!

HEY MCDONALDS- My Rescued pit bull was a stray!

Snickers the Service Dog.

Thank goodness for these people- it is so easy for people to move and leave the problem unsolved- they are fighting the city and bringing national attention to this. I really hope Snickers gets to go home to his mom and dad soon.

Read more.

Want to read about a pit bull named Hooch who was a search and rescue dog on 9/11? Click here.

Moral Inconsistencies about Animals

Moral Inconsistencies...
That is what I want to write about today.

Why is it that we eat cows, poison rats and let dogs sleep in our beds? Why do we care when a dog is humanely euthanized but not when a pig is slaughtered for food or a seal is clubbed for its fur? Why do we hate Michael Vick for abusing dogs when we sit on, carry around, and wear leather goods?

For some of you, it might be easy to answer these questions by simply saying, "Well, pets are different." But why? Why are we plagued with these moral inconsistencies? Why was Hitler a vegetarian, yet order the killing of millions of jews? Why do some Brazilian tribes both kill adult monkeys and personally breast feed their young monkey babies?  This is the subject of Hal Herzog's book "Some we love, Some we hate, Some we eat."

When we first brought Winnie home, it took me all of two months before I stopped eating mammal flesh. I had always had an aversion to handling animal flesh before it was magically converted into "food" via heat, but I wasn't convinced it was morally wrong until a strange thing happened.

http://zivevum.webatu.com/catfish-sahara-wastewater.html

While I was on vacation in the thousand islands a year ago, I witnessed a blue heron fish out a cat-fish from a shallow area and leave it hidden in some dry leaves and grass to suffocate. After it died, it came back and taken it away to eat, presumably to help feed itself and its young as many birds do, I noticed that near the catfish's shallow pool were baby catfish. I had been told that fish of course take very little responsibility for their young, although there is evidence that some fish and amphibians have evolved to do so. For example, the male seahorse holds eggs in his pouch until they hatch and some male frogs actually hold tadpols in their mouths until they are ready to leave. (Listen to this podcast to learn more about how various animals care for their young.)

This did not disturb me much. The young catfish would not be raised by their parents like a fox pup is raised by its mom and dad, but I took particular offense to the way the heron let the catfish die. To be honest, I anthopocentrized the catfish and imagined the agony it felt out of the water- something many children do when they experience fishing with their Dads for the first time- imploring them to throw the fish right back and feeling the guilt associated with yanking these animals in and out of the water for our pleasure.

I was told to forget the fish, that it was part of the nature, and that I truthfully would not want the heron to die of starvation. Of course, I felt that I needed to hold myself to a higher level. My closeness with my dog- the first animal I was ever completely responsible for- led me to feel a closeness intrinsically with other mammals like us.

www.peta.org

How should I proceed with this moral quandary? Well, I stopped eating mammals, and am happy to say that in 1 full year I haven't eaten any mammal flesh. I do, however, still eat fish and poultry. My reasoning for this first began with my both practical concerns and my emotional feelings-- I don't really feel so close to a chicken or a fish and I don't necessary believe that my consumption of them is morally wrong.

At first, free-range poultry and wild-caught fish seemed logical, although there is some evidence that chickens actually prefer to be clusterred together- and given the chance to run free- will huddle under each others wings. (Read about other problems associated with anthropocentrizing animals in A. Horowitz's book, Inside of a Dog.) Recently, after much thought, I found a better justification for my eating habits. If forced to live in the woods for years- or on a deserted island, I would forage and eat fruits, nuts, vegetables and whatever else I could find, but I would also be comfortable collecting insects, spearing fish and catching them with my own hands, or if need be- breaking a bird's neck so that I could eat it.

On the other hand, I would be completely unable to trap and eat any mammal of any kind, not under any circumstances. Whatever genetic code brought me to adore my dogs, whether it be due to my affinity for baby-like creatures to secure the future of my own children- or my ability to sympathize with mammals in order to better hunt them (called theory of mind by philosophers and psychologists), something went wrong somewhere- and I could no longer be able to personally kill a mammal or cut up its flesh. Hence, no mammal meat, and if I can avoid it, no leather.

Nor would I be able to hurt any creature (mammal or not) intentionally and without good reason. In ESPN's recent Michael Vick special issue, author David Fleming raises these exact inconsistencies in the moral behaviors of Vick haters.

Jay Paul/ Getty Images/ESPN.go.com

He writes,  
"From factory farming to horse racing, a multibillion dollar sport where two-thirds of all washed-up thoroughbreds are either abandoned or slaughtered, our perspective regarding animal cruelty is significantly altered depending on the degree of intimacy involved. We don't have to witness the stomach-turning horrors inside a farm factory in order to get chicken nuggets for lunch. They're handed to us through a drive-through window, wrapped inside a clean, colorful package. Theoretically, our hands remain clean, whereas an exhaustive report by the Department of Agriculture revealed that Vick drowned, electrocuted and hung dogs with his bare hands. "The American population may not be guilty of carrying it out with their own hands as Vick did," says Singer. "But it's certainly guilty of supporting animal cruelty through their purchases. It's not any worse to make a dog suffer than to make a pig or a chicken or a cow suffer. If you look at factory farms and if you support them, you can't say 'Vick made animals suffer and I don't.'"

As a dog lover, and a pit bull lover, I found that I was unable to place pits above other dogs, dogs above other mammals, and my own desire for tasty bacon over the pain and suffering of pigs etc. I urge you to think about these issues- about the possible presence of inconsistencies in your own moral code. While euthanasia of dogs in major cities in the U.S. is a huge problem, and a problem that outrages us because of our feelings that dogs are like people- less kind killing of other animals happens every day, on a massive scale, for our indulgences. It is worth ruminating on, isn't it?

Riding out Irene with the Pups

Well, Hurricane Irene barreled through last night, leaving down branches and extensive flooding in her wake, but not much else. Even though there was a tornado headed straight towards us last night- expected to hit Hightstown, NJ at 11:25, we never lost power- or even cable. We grabbed Winnie and Bruno and huddled in the tub in the bathroom- the only room in our house without windows.

Winnie and Bruno were well behaved and slept through the high winds and pounding rain.
Bruno even began cheerily helping with the clean-up of the yard this morning. :)

Unfortunately, our town of Hightstown did not fare so well- and due to flooding of the water treatment center, we can not use the water for an undefined amount of time.

Check out Main Street- once a road, now an extension of Peddie Lake.

Luckily, the canine residents don't seem to mind, watch as this adorable pooch enjoys the new-found swimming pool that once was main street...

(Video courtesy of resident uploads on Patch.com,
check out all the other photos videos of the huge flood here.)

A Not-So-Public ACC Board Meeting Prompts me to feel Grateful...

As I sit here on my couch with Winnie and Bruno on either side of me, as they try to avoid the heat by laying as still as possible, I am so grateful that neither of them ever have to live at the mercy of cruel and negligent people ever again.

Unfortunately, many animals in New York City are surrendered to Animal Care & Control by their owners who are moving to public housing, who are going away on a military deployment, or who can't pay for their medical costs-- only to find that they have a very slim chance of finding a new home and family. The end comes after what was once a family dog is reduced to a depressed and fearful dog- sick from kennel cough and living in its own feces- is killed by a needle in the arm by a brusque stranger.

This is not unusual-any animal advocate following what is happening in New York City- a city I am furious I pay taxes to- knows that this is not an uncommon story. Dogs have only a few days before they are sick and are placed in the sick-ward, up for "disease-euth." We all know that the images of empty water bowls and filthy blankets are all too common--

(Read more about the filthy conditions in my blog post here.)

We all know that reputable shelters that can attract volunteers do not operate this way. (Animal Haven in Soho for example has more volunteers than it can accommodate and therefore, there are walks almost every hour for the dogs and no outbreaks of kennel cough or any other shelter-borne illnesses.)

Today at 3 pm, Animal Care and Control had a Public Board Meeting at 125 Worth Street. A crowd of about 50 people showed up to protest before the meeting, but were never allowed in. What is worse- a reporter from the press arrived 15 minutes early, only to be told the meeting was full and was denied access. While waiting outside, I heard from one lucky observer that the room was in fact- not full- and that the room chosen was too small to accommodate the amount of public interest.

In fact, some advocates in the crowd had come from as far away as Boston to hear Ms. Bank (executive director of the AC&C) herself explain the recent mistakes, errors, and euth statistics, as well as the recent causeless firing of employee Emily Tanen. ( See the video at the bottom for more info)

In addition, it is clear that the organization is understaffed- No time is given to determine a dog's breed-- all dogs with a square-ish head whether 100 lbs or 15 are labeled pit mixes, shutting out potential breed-specific adopters and rescues who may be looking for a boxer-mix or a lab-mix or a bull-terrier.

For example, Steven is clearly an American Bulldog, but the uneducated staffer quickly labeled him a pit-bull mix:

And it couldn't be more obvious that Sully is a Bull terrier, but again, they labeled him a pit bull mix.

If they can't even identify breeds- how are they going to find them homes??
In addition, they show their lack of care by giving the same names over and over-- Star, Diamond, Bruno, Boy, Nice, and Linda among them. They are too busy and careless to fix typos, like this poor boy- who may die named "Rexz"...

...or this one-- "Rubdy" clearly a quickly-typed Rudy...

Recently, there have been a number of animals simply named "Dog" (One is below.)

(Yes, I am serious... they named this scared little guy "Dog")

Unfortunately, change feels far away--even as so many are demanding more taxes and resources go to the No-Kill cause. I am sympathetic to the idea that AC&C is cash-strapped - but a good charity/ a good city office with the right intentions explains that they need all the help they can get- and in the face of criticism, ask for help. This Board has been heralding its successes while shutting out opposing views. Firing Emily Tanen for being out-spoken, hiding the sick-ward so rescues can only view sick animals while accompanied by a AC&C employee, and continuing to say that no healthy animal is being euthanized- is proof that Ms. Bank and the rest of the board are running from the problem. By turning away from criticism, they alienate their donation & volunteer base even more. Rather than explain that they need more money, more space, more time, more help-- they bury their heads even deeper in the sand.

It is a sad day for the animals that lose their lives every day- adoptable animals that could recover in 10 short days from kennel cough (like Bruno did)- dogs like Charlie, a 6 month old 19 lb Pit mix who will miss out on all the kisses, hugs, games of fetch and snacks under the table that life had in store for her-- just because she had a curable cough....

I am so glad I got Bruno out of there just in the nick of time.

See Minutes and Video from AC&C's last board meeting here.

AC&C - Double standards for publicity

Why is it that cruelty cases always find homes? So many healthy, otherwise happy dogs, die in the shelter every single day because they have a treatable cold- but when a dog like Ella comes along, as the news caster says "I know of so many people who are going to want that dog."



Unfortunately, the AC&C has been able to use this case to showcase their "rescue efforts" -- that they are rehabilitating this dog and she will be available for adoption in a few weeks.

Why do they spend time and money on Ella (who was thrown away in the garbage - like Patrick a couple months ago) when they are willing to put little Lucky & Miggy to sleep for being sick???

 

Luckily, little Lucky & Miggy were saved by rescue groups (Lucky is at In Our Hands & Miggy is @ Post Pets)- but not thanks to Animal Care & Control. It is so sad that they are willing to treat dogs differently when they see the potential to raise money and get positive press. They should be working tireslessly to make sure every single dog- emaciated or not, goes home.

New about Pits

A brief google news search yields many unfortunate stories about "Pit bull attacks." But many of them are misleading, and many of the dogs alleged to have "attacked" are mis-labled.

Take these two stories:
A lost American Bulldog wandered into a school in Fairbanks Alaska- where the staff reacted by locking the animal in a bathroom for "fear it was a pit bull." The family dog (identified later by microchip) was not threatening anyone, was retrieved easily and called "friendly" by animal control. Because the staff thought it was a pit bull- they locked it in a bathroom. (read more here.)

In 2003 one of the Queen's many welsh corgis was bitten by Princess Anne's bull terrier- the bites to its legs were severe and the dog had to be put to sleep. Not surprisingly- this article reports the corgi was "killed by a pitbull." Firstly, the bull terrier only injured the dog- and the dog had to be put to sleep later that evening by the vets- the bull terrier did not kill it. Secondly, the dog was a bull terrier!! a completely different breed than a pit bull. Thirdly, it was later disclosed that the bull terrier wasn't even responsible!! The media jumped to the conclusion, but it was one of Princess Anne's other terriers that bit the corgi.

First of 14 Pits Rescued from Bronx Fire Available for Foster

Yesterday, 14 pit bulls (including 1 puppy and 4 newborns) were rescued from a fire in a rented apartment in the Bronx. The dogs were injured by the fire and needed to be treated for smoke inhalation. The owner was said to be breeding them, not fighting them, but clearly this is a case of a recklessly irresponsible "back-yard" breeder- the dogs were emaciated.

They are now at Animal Care and Control, no doubt where they or their puppies could have eventually ended up after being sold and discarded like many other dogs in the city.

Reporters seemed shocked that the fire-fighters were not attacked.
The Times wrote, "Perhaps affected by the smoke, the dogs seemed limp and sleepy, and certainly not combative." (Because of course they would have been combative other-wise.)

The first of the 14 dogs is now available for foster:
To help, please donate to the rescue Amsterdog or fill out an application at Amesterdog.com

Ankana

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update: More of the Fire dogs available for rescue/foster/adoption:

Buster

Boss

Killian